Hampton Scalloper Jumps Off Ship, Is Lost

A scalloper from Hampton was presumed drowned Monday after jumping overboard 60 miles out at sea when his captain refused a request to take him ashore, the Coast Guard said.

Crew members of the Geoffrey Paul, an 80-foot, Hampton-based scallop boat, told the Coast Guard that Vernon J. Owens Jr., who was about 30, jumped overboard and did not come up again.

The incident occurred about 7 a.m. in scalloping grounds about 60 miles southeast of Cape May, N.J., after Owens went to the master of the ship and said "he had to go home," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Vernon Covington.

"The master said that they were engaged in fishing and couldn't leave like that," said Covington. Owens then jumped overboard, without a life preserver, Covington said.

Crew members said they threw Owens a lifeline but he made no attempt to grab it. Covington said he had no information on why Owens wanted to go home or how long the boat had been out.

Two Coast Guard helicopters and the cutter Point Batan from Cape May searched the area without finding any sign of Owens, despite good search conditions. The search was suspended late Monday.